Too Late?
by csiAngel
Summary: SJ This is too late...


Title: Too Late?  
  
Author: Jac  
  
Email:  
  
Rating: G  
  
Archive: SJD yes  
  
Summary: S/J angst. This is too late.  
  
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended.  
  
Spoilers: Based on spoilers for Season Eight ep "Threads". Minor references to characters introduced in Season Seven.  
  
Status: Complete

A/N: Don't read this if you're avoiding spoilers for season eight. You've been warned! Lyrics used at the end are from the Gabrielle song "Ten Years Time".

-----

He places his hand on the small of her back and leads her towards his car. In the dimly lit car park he doesn't notice you standing in the shadows watching. Your back tenses as you wish it was you he could touch.

The wind carries the sound of their laughter to your ears, and you feel your heart break a little more.

You're not surprised to see them like this. You've seen the way they've been looking at each other, but you ignored it.

But this is real. This is it.

This is too late.

A voice comes from behind you.

"It's not too late," Daniel says.

Unconsciously you twist the ring you now wear on your left hand.

"Yes it is," you reply sadly.

"Why?" he asks in that way he has, the ability he possesses to think that everything could be simple.

You lower your head as you consider your response. How can you make him understand something that you just instinctively know?

"Because it has to be," you say eventually, so softly he barely hears it. But he does.

"Why?"

You laugh angrily. "What are you, three? Quit asking why."

He almost says it again, you hear him stop himself. Then he's silent as if you've taken from him everything that he could possibly think to say. There's the proof. He knows this isn't simple. He knows what you're saying is true.

He puts his arm around you and pulls you tightly to him. You won't cry. But you want to.

"Will you be happy though?" he asks quietly after moments of just standing in silence.

Your heart immediately says no.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," you lie. Although you insist to yourself that eventually you will be fine. That it's not a complete lie.

"Liar!" he accuses gently.

The tears prick at your eyes, threatening to fall, as you laugh at his accurate observation.

"You know me so well," you say light-heartedly, but the sadness is there behind your tone.

You share some more silence. The cool breeze managing to dry the tears you refuse to allow to fall.

"If you asked him to wait, he would," Daniel says solemnly.

"I have no – "

He doesn't let you finish. "He made that mistake, Sam. You can fix it."

You look up at him, frowning. You think you know what he means but you want him to explain.

"When you started seeing Pete, he could have spoken up. But he didn't – "

"Maybe he didn't want to."

Daniel shakes his head. "He thought he had no right to."

Daniel's words echo what he earlier stopped you from saying.

"But if he'd asked, you would have waited..." he continues. "You still would."

It's like he can read your heart. "But he didn't and now – "

He stops you again. "He thinks it's too late... That's why it isn't. Talk to him, Sam."

You turn away to where his car used to be. "Maybe it's for the best. We can't. Maybe it's time we faced that."

Daniel steps up beside you. "Okay... Picture yourself in ten years time..." he pauses, giving you time to do that. "I bet you didn't see Pete."

Damn him!

"It doesn't – " you begin.

"It does matter... Do you want to look back on your life and regret the choices you made?... This choice. This decision. The one you make tonight..."

You know it's a rhetorical question. But you also know the answer.

-----

Where you gonna be in ten years time?  
Will you be happy with the way you've been living your life?  
Will you be alright?  
When you're looking back to all the years gone by  
Will there be something that you'll say that you shoulda done right...  
In your life?

THE END


End file.
